Convincing the Rancher (27 page)

“Slaid.” She gasped his name, wanting him inside her, feeling like if it didn’t happen soon she might go up in flames, just like the meteor they’d seen earlier.

He reached for his jeans and rummaged in the pockets, brought the condom to his mouth and ripped it open with his teeth. He growled as he did it, making her laugh as he slid the condom on and rolled to lie fully over her.

His hands were braced on either side of her head, holding him up. With his weight over her, his warmth around her and inside her, she was immobilized, and she loved it. A groan of sheer pleasure vibrated through her but he didn’t move, just studied her face. “I want you, Tess. Like I’ve never wanted anyone. I dreamed of you for two long years, and now that you’re here, I don’t see how I’ll ever get enough of you.”

He kissed her then, not letting her answer, maybe tired of hearing her protests and rationalizations about why they could never work out. She was tired of her rationalizing, too—sick of keeping sex in a sterile compartment. Under this blazing, fiery sky, she welcomed the emotions that flooded her, sensation radiating not just through her body but along the pathways of her mind, singing through her synapses until tears poured down her cheeks and she wasn’t sure if she was laughing or crying.

And only then did he begin to move inside her, so slowly, making sure she felt every moment. Desire combined with all her wild emotion, and she gripped his shoulders tightly to ground herself. But it was impossible to stay grounded when he pushed himself so fiercely inside her, when her body responded with such blazing joy. When they were finished, and he buried his face in her hair, murmuring her name like a prayer, she watched the sky. There was a shower of sparks above them, and she gasped. Slaid rolled over, looking up to try to see what she had.

“I think you missed it,” she said. “I think they were small, far-away meteors. It looked like sparks from fireworks.”

He laughed softly. “It’s the perfect opening.”

“To what?” She was too languid, post sex to actually look at him.

“To say something like, ‘Baby, I don’t need to see fireworks when we just made plenty of our own.’”

“No!” she protested, cringing at his terrible pillow talk. And he took her hand and held it as they lay giggling, watching the sky for more glimpses of the meteors.

* * *

T
ESS DIDN’T KNOW
when she’d been so completely content. She’d enjoyed all her favorite things tonight: Slaid, sex, chocolate and Scotch. Not to mention her new favorite thing: hot sex in a truck bed under a sky full of shooting stars. And then more sex back at her cottage in the comfortable bed. Sex with a wildness that had her gripping the iron bars of the headboard—and hoping her neighbors were heavy sleepers. She closed her eyes, and the memories of the night heated her skin in a way that had nothing to do with the hot bathwater she was immersed in.

“You okay down there?” Slaid was the world’s best backrest, though it had been tricky to fit his huge body into the claw-foot tub. She was snuggled down between his thighs, the water up to her chin, letting the hot water take away the soreness of her muscles after all the insane things they’d just done.

“Mmm...” She sighed. “I’m good. Very, very good. You?”

“Never been better.” His fingers massaged her scalp. “I could get used to this.”

Tess yawned and refused to listen to the voices in her head that conspired to pull her out of this moment by warning her not to get used to it, that all this was temporary. She didn’t want to think about that right now.

“You’re sleepy.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Come on. Let’s get you to bed.” He lifted her easily to her feet and stood up behind her, holding her steady when she swayed slightly. He stepped out of the tub and insisted on lifting her up and over the edge, wrapping her in a soft bath towel and helping her dry her hair. They brushed their teeth side by side—another first for Tess.

Slaid tucked her carefully into bed before lying down next to her and spooning her. “You want to tell me what’s going on?” he said, his breath stirring her hair.

“Just so tired,” she breathed, feeling sleep approaching like a peaceful, cool fog. Her voice seemed so far way, as if it was coming from someone else when she whispered, “So tired of being alone. Never felt so safe before. Ever.” And then the warm darkness covered her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

S
LAID WATCHED
T
ESS
ride Wendy around the corral. Devin was perched on the top rail fence giving her instructions. It was unbelievable, the way his son had taken to Tess. Despite acting tough, Devin missed having a mom. And there was something about Tess that he clicked with, some sort of understanding that they had. Maybe it stemmed from the day they’d met, when Devin had broken her fence. Slaid wasn’t happy about Devin’s behavior that day, but maybe it was good that his son had met Tess on his own terms, forging a bond with her before even knowing who she was. However it happened, he was grateful that his son liked the woman he’d fallen in love with.

It would take some time to get used to those words. He’d said “I love you” to one other woman—Jeannette. But they’d been together since high school. Sure, he’d had a crush on her back then, been thrilled that she’d let him put his hand on her bra, but had he really been in love? He didn’t think so anymore. Not like this, at least—not like last night when he’d lain awake watching Tess sleep, making sure she was okay. Her last words haunted him... What had happened to her that she’d never felt safe before? She’d slept deeply, with a small smile on her face, until he’d kissed her goodbye in the early dawn, determined to get home before Cal’s family dropped off Devin.

But he hadn’t fooled his twenty-first-century son. Devin had hopped out of Cal’s parents’ SUV, and come straight over to where Slaid had been loading the truck with hay. “Where’s Tess?” he’d asked. And when Slaid had explained with all the false innocence that he could muster that Tess was likely at home where he’d left her last night, Devin had just laughed. “Jeez, Dad,” he’d said. “You don’t have to pretend with me.” And he’d given his dad a wink and headed toward the house, whistling merrily.

From the mouths of babes. How did his son manage to be worldlier than him most of the time?

Tess had arrived at the ranch for lunch. Slaid had grilled burgers and they’d all sat out on the patio, absorbing the meager sunshine while they ate. Devin had picked up where he’d left off last night, teasing Tess about her lack of football knowledge, which prompted them to get a football and teach Tess to throw and catch. And if Slaid had thrown in the occasional tackle, well, he was a guy, crazy about a beautiful woman—who could blame him for wanting to throw his arms around her and bring her, squealing and laughing, down to the ground once in a while?

Once they’d shown Tess where to place her fingers along the laces, how to hold her elbow up to leverage the ball, she’d lobbed it right over their heads—which had impressed Devin. But best of all was the surprised look on her face as she watched it sail away, and the hilarious jumping dance she’d done afterward.

He’d just stared at her, amazed. The icy cool Tess who’d glided into his office in her sexy power suit a few weeks ago was nowhere to be seen. And he was completely in love with this woman, her thick blond hair tossed in the wind, almost no trace of makeup on her beautiful face and her smile unguarded and ear to ear.

Finally finished cleaning the paddock, Slaid picked up the manure-laden wheelbarrow and pushed it to the gate. Not his favorite job, but he figured he’d give Devin a break from his chores since he was having such a good time with Tess.

Orlando came over and nuzzled him, hoping for a treat before Slaid left. “Later, big guy,” Slaid told him, patting his neck. Orlando blew out an alfalfa-sweet horsey sigh and wandered off, clearly disgruntled.

“Slaid!” Tess was calling to him, so he latched the gate and left the wheelbarrow where it was, walking down the hillside toward her. “Look at what Devin taught me!” She gently turned Wendy and gave her a little nudge, and the mustang broke into a slow jog around the paddock.

“Push your weight into your legs,” Devin called, and Slaid remembered how, not too long ago, he’d been sitting right where Devin was, calling out the same advice to his son. Pride swelled. His boy had come a long way.

Tess slowed Wendy back to a walk and looked over at Slaid, her eyes shining with a tentative pride. “What do you think?”

He smiled, trying to figure out how to put into coherent words the way he felt right now. He couldn’t, so he stuck with, “It looks as if you belong up there.”

He opened the gate and she rode Wendy out, dismounting stiffly while Slaid held the reins. Devin approached. “That was awesome, Tess!”

She smiled at him, and Slaid saw true affection there. “Well, I had a great teacher,” she told him, and Devin beamed.

“Want to go for a ride around the ranch?” Slaid asked. “Dev, we can show her the higher pastures and a bit of the mountains.”

“Sure!” Devin had a huge grin on his face.

“Why don’t you saddle up Orlando and Puck and I’ll grab us some food from the house?”

“I’ll go with you,” Tess offered.

He took her hand as they strolled up the driveway and kept it when they went inside. It wasn’t until he’d decided what sandwich makings to pull out of his fridge that he was willing to let go.

* * *

M
AYBE IT WAS
being with Devin and Slaid and listening to their good-natured, teasing rapport. Maybe it was the bright autumn sunshine, or that the world looked different from the back of a beautiful mustang like Wendy. Whatever it was, Tess saw the mountains differently today. Everything looked brighter, more cheerful, that it had before. The peaks still looked majestic, but not as forbidding as they once had. The creeks they crossed as they went higher up were more of a trickle now at the end of the dry season, but Tess easily imagined the way they’d roll and tumble with snowmelt in the spring. Then Slaid paused in the woods and they watched in silence as the aspen leaves fell around them, drifting like golden confetti through the forest.

The aspen eventually gave way to pines that grew with impressive tenacity through the granite slabs of the mountainside, and it was up there, with a view of the valley below, that they stopped and ate their sandwiches while the horses snacked in a small meadow of sparse grass on the other side of the trail.

Slaid and Devin pointed out various landmarks to her while they ate, and when it was time to head back to the ranch, Tess was filled with genuine regret. She wanted more time up in the mountains. She wanted to follow the trail they’d been on as it wound higher. Devin told her the path eventually led to a lake with a great camping spot that he and his dad visited often in the summer. Tess tried to imagine camping, actually cooking, sleeping,
living
outside, but it boggled her imagination. Perhaps a quick picnic on a boulder was as rustic as she got, but still, the idea intrigued her
new
more adventurous self.

Back at the ranch, Slaid and Devin got started on chores, leaving Tess to try her hand at cooking dinner. She walked around, opening and closing cupboards with increasing despair. And then she remembered her new goal—to no longer pretend she was okay on her own, but instead reach out to her friends when she needed help. And fortunately, one of those friends was married to a fabulous chef.

She called Jenna and enjoyed a few minutes of small talk, and then Sandro got on the phone. “You mean, you’ve never cooked anything before?” he asked, sounding slightly horrified.

“Well, I’ve made toast. Does that count?”

“No. Okay, I’m going to walk you through a basic pasta with vegetables. Ready?”

She told him what ingredients she had and he told her what to do with them, and by the time Slaid and Devin got back she was a regular Julia Child, with the table set and a large bowl of steaming pasta in the middle.

“You
are
a domestic goddess!” Slaid exclaimed.

“Don’t get your hopes up. I was merely the hands. Sandro, via the telephone, was the brains behind this meal.”

“Well, then, you have the right kind of friends, which is just as important as domestic skills, if not more so,” Slaid said. “Come on, Devin, let’s get changed and washed so we can eat this Sandro-Tess creation.”

She was playing housewife for a night, and it was kind of fun.

Apparently Slaid had similar feelings. They’d finished their meal and cleared the table, Devin had gone off to wrestle with his essay. They’d loaded the dishwasher and had started on the pots and pans, with Slaid washing and Tess drying, when he leaned over and kissed her. “I could get used to this. It feels like family.”

“It’s nice,” Tess answered, walking away to set the bowl she’d dried on the sideboard in the dining room. She didn’t want to talk about this. Didn’t want to think about how obviously Slaid wanted a family—how he deserved a family—and how she couldn’t give it to him. But she loved him, and she didn’t want to think of him having a family with someone else, either—

She froze in the doorway. She
loved
him.

“Tess...” Slaid glanced over. He must have seen something in her expression, shock, maybe? Because he walked to the doorway and took the dish towel from her hands and kissed her gently on the mouth. She felt it all over her skin. She was afraid he might voice what she was feeling—she wasn’t ready for that.

“Tess, I...”

“Can’t we just enjoy this... What we have now?”

“I just...”

She kissed him back then. Threw her arms around his neck and went on tiptoe to reach his mouth and bring him down to her, to show him all the unwanted emotion that was welling up inside her. And to keep him from saying anything that might break them apart when they’d only just come together.

When the kiss ended slowly, lingeringly, she whispered, “
That’s
what I want. Can’t we just
be
? Like that?”

He hesitated, pulled her in close, and she felt him take a deep breath. “Yeah. We can. For now.”